“London City Airport bans most private jets.”
Verdict: Not a ban — a technical bar. London City's approach is flown at 5.5 degrees, nearly double the standard 3 degrees, and its runway is under 5,000 ft. Any aircraft using it must hold a specific 'steep approach' certification, and the operator must be approved. Many business jets have it (CJ family, PC-24, Falcon 7X/8X, Legacy 500, G650, Challenger 350, Falcon 6X and more). Many don't. And there are noise limits, a Sunday morning closure and a curfew that bite regardless.
The airport sits in the old Royal Docks, wedged between office towers and residential streets, so its approach was designed steep to keep aircraft high over the neighbourhood. A 5.5-degree glidepath requires aircraft to descend with more drag and less engine power than normal, and manufacturers must demonstrate to EASA or the FAA that the type can do so safely, including with one engine out. That certification is on the aircraft's type certificate — it can't be bought per flight.
A reasonable list of business jets with steep-approach approval includes the Cessna Citation CJ2–CJ4, XLS and Latitude, the Pilatus PC-24, Embraer Phenom 300 and Legacy 450/500, Dassault Falcon 7X, 8X, 900 and 2000 families and the newer Falcon 6X, Bombardier Challenger 350 and Global 7500, and Gulfstream G650/G650ER. Larger and older types are generally excluded.
On top of that, the airport is closed from Saturday lunchtime to Sunday lunchtime, has a strict noise-quota system and permits no operations after 22:30. The result is that London City hosts a modest but real business-jet traffic; the bulk of London's private flights use Farnborough, Luton, Biggin Hill and Stansted, which take anything.
Sources: simpleflying.com · ainonline.com · en.wikipedia.org
Aircraft in this story
